“Right to Write” by Julia Cameron – Week 2

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

I still do daily Morning Pages though Right to Write does not specify doing them as a tool. I divided the book into four Initiation Tools a week.
The first Initiation Tool this week was called “Track” where you spend 15 minutes writing about “If you didn't have to actually write it, what might be fun to write?” I LOVED this exercise because I listed libraries full of poetry, songs in Munsee and Mahican, genealogy, memoirs. To my surprise I found myself writing down musicals and movies too. Cook books full of delicious recipes. Mahican and Munsee dictionaries and stories. It was freeing to just imagine the possibilities!
Second Initiation Tool was “Bad Writing” To get 3 tabloid magazines. Then cut out 10 stories that strike you. I went to People Magazine online and found plenty of tabloid stories there. I copied and pasted them. I was drawn to hero stories of the Boston Marathon bombing and famous people living the high life like. Second part of the exercise was to write a tabloid story. Mine was a dozy about a princess kidnapped at birth and switched into another family. Her boyfriend comes along and discovers the truth of real birth and her royal status because he's a part of a secret underground organization.
Third Initiation Tool “The Writing Life” It said to write a situation in my life that you are currently trying to metabolize in 15 minutes. I wrote about two major projects which are Organization Coordinator for White Bison, Inc for their Mending Broken Hearts Training and being accepted in the Breath of Life Archival Institute of Indigenous Languages where I will be going to Washington DC to explore the archives in the Library Congress and Smithsonian looking for my tribe's Mahican and Munsee language. First, I am having a really hard time finding a building in Waukesha that will allow smudging in light of the fact Wisconsin has laws that say you can't smoke in public buildings. Second, is all the preparation to get ready for the trip in Washington DC, all the hours of research that need to be done and trying to figure how to bring all that information back.
Fourth Initiation Tool “Mood” is to write a mood in a recognizable part of your life. I chose a situation that I was angry about. As I wrote though the feelings changed from anger to sadness and then to grief. The emotions surrounding this situation were much more complex than I realized.

I had a rough week emotionally. Two people I respect deeply and publicly criticized me unfairly. I stood up to them and explained my side, but I felt awful they showed me no respect and it's clear they don't know me. I felt deeply wounded. Nobody RSVP'd for the Saturday Waukesha Artist's Way Circle Meetup so I was forced to cancel which upset me because I really needed their support this week. My phone died and I lost all 400 of my contacts despite my efforts to back up the information in multiple places! I couldn't call for support from anyone during my time of need! If that wasn't bad enough a person I was deeply connected to native spiritually wise just up and left the Waukesha Artist's Way Circle Meetup today because she said she didn't have the time. I think this hurts the most to me because she was the only Native American that identified one who shared the same Native American spiritual gifts in my Artist's Way Circle Meetup. We prayed together with tobacco and talking about the Morning Star Prayer Circle and Native American Women's Songs and Drum. I went and collected a whole bunch of Native American women's songs I wanted to share with her, but I don't think she is ever coming back. On top of all that I woke up today sick!